Ethiopian Airlines has started services to Chicago as of June 10, deploying one of its Boeing 787s for the route.

The inaugural flight was announced at a ceremony in the VIP Salon of Addis Ababa Bole International Airport. “Chicago will be our 4th destination in the US, and our 7th in the Americas. We will be filling a critical air connectivity vacuum as our flights will be the only direct service between Chicago and Africa,” said Tewolde GebreMariam, group ceo of Ethiopian Airlines.